Cuban Culture in the News
Archive: 1/05-12/05

Marta Rojas wins the Alejo Carpentier Novel Prize  12/26/2005 Granma: "ON the eve of the 101st anniversary of the birth of Alejo Carpentier today, December 26, Marta Rojas joyfully received the news that the Novel Prize bearing the name of the author of Explosion in a Cathedral for this year had been awarded to her. Inglesa por un año (English for One Year), a narrative set in the period when the Cuban capital was seized from the Spanish colony by the British Empire (1762-1763), won our colleague the Carpentier Prize on the decision of a jury comprising Miguel Barnet, Humberto Arenal and Anna Lidia Vega Serova. “There was much respect and admiration between Alejo and myself. Over and above what this literary prize means, I am moved to know that the living spirit of Alejo is in every revolutionary effort, in this gigantic work for promoting a general and integral culture, which has its principal promoter in Fidel,” Marta commented after hearing of the jury’s verdict. The prize is to be awarded in the Havana stage of the 2006 Book Fair in the Cabaña Fortress in February."

Nuestro gran escritor vive en cada gesto revolucionario  12/26/2005 Granma 

Arsenio and his son combo  12/14/2005 Granma: "Like many other musicians he experimented in the 1930s when the sextets and septets had already passed their peak. “I thought that the septet, with trumpet, guitar and tres lacked the necessary harmony and I added three trumpets to harmonize with the metal section. I also incorporated piano and drumming with my brother Kike. I was looking for a more powerful sound for the larger dancehalls and outdoor spaces like El Polar. They called me the Chambelona Crazy Guy but the following year when the combos came into fashion, I wasn’t quite so crazy,” Arsenio stated in the Bohemia magazine in 1952."

Tres velitas por El Ambia  12/6/2005 Cuba Literaria: "Con tres velitas —el buen pie, la buena estrella y la gran rumba— entró Eloy Machado, El Ambia, a sus 65 años. Ha sido y es una de las voces más peculiares de la lírica contemporánea cubana: inusual, transgresora, hiriente y cálida. Para unos, una isla dentro de la Isla; para otros, la sintonía con la tierra, el barrio y los ancestros. En la UNEAC, entre amigos, celebró el aniversario. Y en medio del jolgorio miró su vida pasar: el hambre, el invento y la cárcel de otros tiempos, la dignidad recuperada en los aires más recientes, sus días en la construcción, su amistad con Efigenio Ameijeiras, su intuición poética, la acogida que le dispensó Nicolás Guillén, el aplauso iniciático de Cintio Vitier, sus libros desde Camán lloró (1984) a Por mi pura (2004), su colaboración con Yoruba Andabo y Clave y Guaguancó, y su vuelta al mundo en la cuerda timbera de Los Van Van mediante Soy todo. Entre Cayo Hueso y su peña del patio de la UNEAC, El Ambia existe. Nadie le quita lo bailado y mucho menos lo que bailará."

The colors of Cuba  10/31/2005 Viredo: published 11/98, about the abakua and lukumi influenced painter Viredo. Check out his site and the numerous paintings.

From afar, Orishas carry Cuba's new vibe  10/28/2005 Miami Herald: "Europe-based but not exiles, Cuban hip hoppers Orishas, insist you don't have to live in the island to rap about Cuba. Not your father's Buena Vista geezers, Orishas, Cuba's star hip-hoppers, will perform their own concert in Miami on Sunday (they were scheduled to play the Soulfrito Festival, now moved to Nov. 20)."

Cuban Delegation to Visit Sithengi  10/23/2005 filmmaker.co.za: "The Cuban delegation is: Omar Gonzales, President of ICAIC (Cuban Cinematography Institute), Susana Molina, Vice-President ICAIC, Gloria Rolando, Documentary director, Rigoberto Lopez, Feature film director and Guillermo Sabi, cinematographer."

CUBAN MUSICIANS JAM FOR NEW ORLEANS  10/12/2005 Cuba Now 

Singing and weeping with Miriam Makeba • Two marvelous concerts in Havana  10/10/2005 Granma 

ENTREVISTA CON SANTIAGO RODRÍGUEZ OLAZÁBAL - Historia con Ifá adelante  9/25/2005 Jiribilla 

Mensajero de Ochún  9/23/2005 CubaEncuentro: «Soy mulato, injerto de españoles y africanos, y como decía el poeta: 'dejo que mi canto negriblanco suba'», porque los orishas negros son mensajeros de Dios', dice el artista Alberto Morgan.

Caguayo viste de largo  9/22/2005 Granma: "A diez años de su creación, la Fundación Caguayo ocupa un lugar prominente en la promoción de la escultura monumentaria y el desarrollo de las artes aplicadas. Lo que parecía una utopía, incubada por el escultor y pintor santiaguero Alberto Lescay y sus colaboradores en el proyecto de la Plaza de la Revolución Antonio Maceo, se ha abierto paso en medio de difíciles circunstancias para llevar adelante una especialidad artística que implica exigentes recursos materiales y tecnológicos… Obviamente, Caguayo ha contribuido a potenciar la obra de su fundador, Alberto Lescay, autor de reconocidas obras como el Monumento al cimarrón, en las minas de El Cobre, la efigie del héroe de la independencia haitiana Toussaint L'Ouverture, que se levanta en la Avenida de las Américas, y la reveladora escultura Martí crece, estas dos últimas emplazadas en Santiago de Cuba. El arte de Lescay es también apreciado fuera de Cuba; uno de sus más vivos ejemplos se alza en la ciudad venezolana de Puerto cabello, donde su Monumento al Guerrero se ha convertido en obligado sitio de peregrinaje. Pero la Fundación ha auspiciado muchos otros proyectos. Su taller de fundición ha ganado sólida reputación. El famoso John Lennon sedicente de José Villa Soberón se fundió allí. Los escultores y pintores santiagueros han encontrado allí espacio para la creación y la difusión internacional de su obra."

Lanzamiento del nuevo trabajo discografico "DEL MONTUNO AL REGGAETOWN"  9/20/2005 Cubanos en la Red 

Cubana Omara Portuondo arrasó en Río de Janeiro  9/19/2005 PL 

Cubanos sin Celia Cruz  9/18/2005 CubaEncuentro: por YESENIA FERNANDEZ SELIER - "A la memoria nacional debería devolvérsele no sólo lo que se preservó con nostalgia en el exilio, sino la experiencia vital y cultural de la insularidad."

Músico cubano X Alfonso en Feria Discográfica berlinesa  9/18/2005 Jiribilla 

'Habana Blues' opta a la mejor película en los Premios de la Academia de Cine Europeo  9/16/2005 CubaEncuentro 

Ni más ni menos  9/10/2005 Jiribilla: "En los mismos días en que la música cubana cobraba conciencia de sí misma, ya estaba interactuando con la nación norteamericana. Allí, aún antes de que Cuba se quitara el peso del colonialismo español, ya andaban compositores e instrumentistas nuestros por esa nación. Lo cual se incrementó en las primeras décadas del siglo pasado, impulsado sobre todo por el interés de la floreciente industria del disco en EE.UU., que se interesó muy pronto por los músicos nuestros. Desde entonces y hasta hoy los ritmos cubanos siempre han estado cerca del público norteamericano."

Lecuona, the most renowned of Cuban musicians  9/9/2005 Granma: "The musician from Guanabacoa made the music that he felt and his dances initiated music of African origin in a stage in which anything related to Black people was taboo. "I was the first to bring the conga drum of the black slaves to the pentagram and the keyboard. From 1911 I was heavily criticized for that, devotees believed that I should cultivate long-established classical music. But I did "La comparsa," Danza negra," "Danza Lucumí." In that period singers were not allowed to sing anything other than Puccini or Donizetti.""

Nominados seis cubanos a los Grammy Latinos  9/3/2005 Prensa Latina: "Seis músicos cubanos, entre ellos Juan Formell, Leo Brouwer, Omara Portuondo y Manuel (El guajiro) Mirabal figuran entre los nominados a los premios Grammy Latino 2005, según la lista oficial divulgada este martes por los organizadores."

Manolito Simonet busts the thermometers  8/18/2005 Granma 

Ibrahim Ferrer dies at 78  8/8/2005 Guardian 

IBRAHIM FERRER, DEATH AND TRANSFIGURATION  8/6/2005 Cuba Now 

HAROLD LOPEZ-NUSSA, WINNER IN MONTREUX - Jazz in the blood  8/2/2005 Granma: "EVEN though the youthful pianist Harold López-Nussa talks of his surprise at receiving First Prize in the Solo Piano Competition in Montreux, Switzerland, his jazz lineage has made him a powerful contestant from the outset. His father and brother, both called Ruy, are renowned percussionists in the genre, and his uncle, Hernán, one of the Cuba’s finest pianists. At the 39th Montreux Festival, one of the most important jazz events in the world (it has convened piano, voice and guitar competitions for seven years), Harold, aged 22 and still a student at the Superior Institute of Arts (ISA), and his colleague, Alfredo Rodríguez, confronted a deluxe jury, headed by Joe Sample and comprising notable instrumentalists and connoisseurs of the genre, like George Duke, Robi Weber, Kurt Weil and Jean-Claude Rever."

AT 75, TATA GÜINES BAPTIZES HIS DRUMS  7/24/2005 Cuba Now: "His career has been like star which never goes out: he has recorded with other famous artists, like Arturo Chico O’Farrill and Cachao, and –in 1946- he performed for the first time at New York’s Waldorf Astoria and the Palladium, where he met composer, band leader and trumpet player Mario Bauza, one of the most important musicians in the fusion of Jazz and Afro-Cuban rhythms. His stay in the United States included recordings with the Miles Davis, Dizzie Guillespie and Maynard Ferguson bands, an experience which prompted him to broaden the possibilities of the tumbadora in Latin Jazz. Those moments were recalled during these days of celebration by Tata Güines, described by Chico Hamilton a half-century ago as “the fastest left-hand in tumbadora playing.” So many years later, surrounded by relatives and journalists in Havana, he smiles proudly when he recalls other New York moments, like when he performed with Josephine Baker, Frank Sinatra, Maynard Ferguson and Chico Hamilton in a show in which he played his first solo."

Ignacio Piñeiro, creador de sones, rumbas y claves ñáñigas  6/25/2005 Jiribilla 

La Timba de Pupy Pedroso  6/22/2005 Jiribilla 

Una criada en La Habana  6/22/2005 Jiribilla: "En la narrativa cubana de la última década, fueron mayoritarias las recreaciones de grupos sociales que los mass media tocaban tangencialmente. Así, las experiencias de balseros, prostitutas, gays, lesbianas y roqueros, accedieron a un público nacional ávido. La abundancia de estas recreaciones, justificada por la dinámica de los 90, signó la década. Recreaciones que se centraron en las experiencias de la raza blanca, resultando las recreaciones de las experiencias de negros y mestizos, exiguas y, casi siempre, marginales[1]. La publicación en el 2003, por la Editorial Letras Cubanas, de la novela Las criadas de La Habana, del escritor santaclareño Pedro Pérez Sarduy constituyó un signo halagüeño acerca de la posibilidad de que en esta década, esas experiencias ocupen mayor espacio en la narrativa cubana."

AFRICAN AND AFRO-AMERICAN CULTURE CONFERENCE  6/19/2005 Cuba Now: "The Fernando Ortiz African Culture Center and other similar institutions will hold the VIII International Conference on African and Afro-American Culture in Santiago de Cuba next year to reflect on problems regarding African topics. The organizers are calling on artists, sociologists, and other interested persons to establish a debate about Pre- colonial Africa: Economic, political and social structure; Colonial Africa: Main European settlements; The formation of countries and nationalities in Africa; Liberation war; and Africa and its relationship with the rest of the world. Likewise, Slave trade over the Atlantic and its present approach; The African factor as a component of the national identity of American and Caribbean people; Diacrony and synchrony in linguistics, philosophical, historical and literary studies on Africa, Afro-American and Afro-Caribbean; and Genre, race and identity in the different African studies."

Sixteen Countries Confirmed to Caribbean Festival  6/18/2005 Prensa Latina: "The organizing committee of the 25th Caribbean Festival said that 16 countries have confirmed attendance. Its President, Joel James, said that this edition of la Fiesta del Fuego devoted to Venezuela, will gather 700 artists and personalities from Latin America and Europe to celebrate the 490th birthday of this city. The also director of the Casa del Caribe, said confirmations were from Aruba, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, The Netherland Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, El Salvador, Spain, Suriname, Venezuela and Cuba as host. As main guest, Venezuela will present its traditional and popular music, dances and literature through 13 groups."

A Night of Rumba and Revolution - Matanzas, Cuba  6/17/2005 BootsnAll Travel: publication date unknown - "But this was home turf for Afro-Cuba and the community showed its love for the group. The ensemble opened immediately with one of its signature Bata Rumba numbers where the three double-headed tambores bata are incorporated in the traditional three conga rumba guaguanco, creating a supercharged version of the classic rumba form. It was a family crowd. At first, adults, teens and children resisted responding to the clave swing, perhaps to avoid generational embarrassments. But soon enough, the high school age boys and girls, on one side of the street, began an understated demonstration for each other of the uniquely Cuban dance style that accompanies this music. Meanwhile, the adults on the other side of the street started to swing, and many of the smaller children let go in the middle, aping the older people and experimenting on sticks and bottles with the rhythms that permeate the air here."

At the Cubadisco International Fair  6/16/2005 Progreso Weekly 

First ever Cuban film festival comes to Jamaica  6/13/2005 Jamaica Observer: includes Gloria Rolando film Hijos de Baragua, My Footsteps in Baragua, here listed as Children of Baragua.

Hub hops to Cuban beats of Paredes  6/3/2005 Boston Herald: "Boston's an unlikely stopping-off point for some of the world's best young Latin jazz players, but that's exactly what the city has been for several years now. Cuban-born pianist Osmany Paredes, the latest heavyweight to hang his hat here, put on a show Wednesday night at Ryles that had the crowd rushing home with a message to absent friends: Catch this guy while he's still in town. The 32-year-old native of Havana called his band a traditional Cuban quartet, but there should be a big, fat asterisk attached to the description. Traditional with a very modern edge is more like it. From the supporting instrumentation - stand-up electric bass, timbales, congas, guiro and vocals - to the interpretations of songs, danzons and guarachas, this was Afro-Cuban jazz for the new millennium. Paredes is an aggressive stylist with a bright-sounding, percussive approach and penchant for fiery improvisations, yet time and again he revealed a sweet side on the likes of the stately contradanza opener ``La Comparsa'' and the bolero ``En Nosotros.'' It's a mix he's comfortable with, having studied classically in Cuba, then working in Mexico City and other spots with such powerhouses as Israel Cachao Lopez."

Algerian Gérald Mouial writes on Cuba  6/3/2005 Granma: "HAVING related to Cuba for more than 10 years, Gérald Mouial (Algeria, 1942), a notary by profession, has become a fervent admirer and promoter of the island’s culture. Thus, this Latino-African, as he likes to define himself, art collector, photographer and writer, has initiated and taken part in exhibitions by Cuban artists in France and the French islands in the northern Caribbean."

"Iré Habana": Vitier se suelta con la música, Perugorría se ata con imágenes  5/26/2005 CubaNet 

Yoruba Andabo to Release Album in Cubadisco 2005 Fair  5/25/2005 Prensa Latina 

A high note for Celia Cruz's memory  5/20/2005 Chicago Tribune 

Smithsonian Hails Salsa Queen - Retrospective Traces Celia Cruz's Life From Havana to Stardom  5/18/2005 Washington Post 

Manna from Havana  5/15/2005 Sunday Times: interview with Carlos Acosta - "He was a wayward teenager whose father believed he was plagued by evil spirits. Now Carlos Acosta is a world-class ballet star — but he still dances like a man possessed… But there is something that no amount of glittering biographical detail can convey. Something never touched on in the rags-to-riches tales. Something that only surfaces as Carlos starts to talk about the importance of Santeria in his home as he was growing up. It is, perhaps, the reason there seems a hint of sadness behind his seductive eyes. It is also, on his own admission, the reason he became such a superlative dancer. The key to its understanding lies with the deity with whom his father most identifies, Ogun."

9th INTERNATIONAL CUBADISCO FAIR - The competition has begun ... and so has the party  5/13/2005 Granma: lists nominees

Cuban Film Star to Present Documentary on Cuban Pianist Jose Maria Vitier  5/11/2005 Prensa Latina: ""Iré Habana," in Yoruba, stands for "blessing to Havana." "It is a song to the health of the city, whose inspiring beauty we feel is threatened," the actor stated for a local radio station. Made by filmmaker Angel Alderete, the film -in DVD format- presents the music by a namesake album by Cuban pianist and composer Jose Maria Vitier, a fusion of Latin jazz with genres ranging from traditional trova to Cuban country music."

Los Papines Successfully Perform in Beijing  5/11/2005 Prensa Latina 

Miguelito Valdez: 'Mr. Babalu'  5/7/2005 Times Herald Record 

Isaac Delgado rompe el silencio  5/1/2005 Cubarte 

Isaac Delgado rompe el silencio  5/1/2005 Cubarte 

Lanzan en EE.UU. compilación de Música cubana  5/1/2005 Cubarte: "El sello Escondida Records anunció el lanzamiento de una compilación de música cubana titulada Cuban Essentials, que abarca grabaciones desde los años 50 a los 90 e incluye canciones de renombrados artistas como Benny Moré , Ibrahim Ferrer , Chucho Valdés y Los Van Van. La colección de 10 discos ofrece un panorama amplio de géneros musicales como el son, bolero, danzón, cha cha cha, trova tradicional y jazz latino, y contiene grabaciones poco conocidas de astros como Compay Segundo , los Irakere, Rubén González y Omara Portundo."

Lanzan en EE.UU. compilación de Música cubana  5/1/2005 Cubarte: "El sello Escondida Records anunció el lanzamiento de una compilación de música cubana titulada Cuban Essentials, que abarca grabaciones desde los años 50 a los 90 e incluye canciones de renombrados artistas como Benny Moré , Ibrahim Ferrer , Chucho Valdés y Los Van Van. La colección de 10 discos ofrece un panorama amplio de géneros musicales como el son, bolero, danzón, cha cha cha, trova tradicional y jazz latino, y contiene grabaciones poco conocidas de astros como Compay Segundo , los Irakere, Rubén González y Omara Portundo."

Humboldt State University Office of Extended Education presents the 10th annual Explorations in Afro-Cuban Dance & Drum workshop to celebrate the folkloric music, songs, and dances of the Afro-Cuban people  5/1/2005 Humboldt State University, CA 

Premio Olorum a bailarina del Conjunto Folclórico Nacional  4/30/2005 Cubarte: "A Silvina Faber Giral, primera bailarina del Conjunto Folclórico Nacional, se le concedió en esta ciudad el Premio Olorum, el cual se entrega por primera vez a personalidades de la danza folclórica. Con una rica trayectoria en esta manifestación artística, Silvina Faber mereció el reconocimiento en la gala de clausura del II Festival de Danza Olorum, que durante cinco días se desarrolló en el teatro Principal y en escenarios al aire libre. El "Olorum" -que en lengua Yoruba identifica al Sol- contó con la participación de nueve agrupaciones de diferentes provincias, incluidos tres colectivos camagüeyanos-, y también de bailarines de Francia y Bélgica. Además, se realizaron sesiones teóricas, como una clase magistral de Eduardo Rivero, Premio Nacional de la Danza y director del grupo Danza Teatro del Caribe, de Santiago de Cuba, y una conferencia del etnólogo italiano Enzo Giammetta, conocedor del folclor de África, Cuba y su país. Organizado por el Conjunto Folclórico de Camagüey, el próximo Festival se efectuará en 2007."

Old Cuban Musicians: THE LAST WILL BE THE FIRST  4/26/2005 Cuba Now 

Silvio Rodríguez satisfecho con gira por Chile y Argentina  4/22/2005 Jiribilla 

Romany people in Havana  4/21/2005 Granma 

Algunas notas sobre el Reguetón  3/31/2005 Cubarte: last article listed in the article index

Danza Callejera en la Habana Vieja  3/27/2005 Jiribilla 

Tambores cubanos en Milán  3/22/2005 Cubarte: "En la ciudad de Milano se celebró recientemente la primera edición de Cantacuba, un Festival Musical organizado organizado por la Compañía Tropical y patrocinado por el Consulado General de la República de Cuba, el Ente Turismo de Cuba en Italia y el ayuntamiento de Corsico. La jornada se efectuó en la discoteca Rumba de Milano."

From Cuba, Via Senegal: orchestra Baobab stresses the African element of Afro-Caribbean music.  3/20/2005 Valley Advocate 

Mexico Invited to Danzon Festival in Cuba  3/17/2005 PL: "Mexico invited to the II Havana Danzon Festival dedicated to this type of music created in the XIX century by the Cuban musician Miguel Failde in Matanzas western Cuban city. Sources from the Organizing Committee told Prensa Latina the musical event, sponsored by the Cuban Union of Writers and Artists (UNEAC), will take place from March 23 to 27 in Havana. Mexico will attend the festival with an important delegation to this meeting dedicated to musicians, dancers, musical groups and music lovers, added the organizers."

Cubarte Newsletter Number 11 Year 3  3/16/2005 Cubarte: "Chucho Valdes Opens Piano Festival and Competition in Cuba, Cuban Jazz Women create their own Space. By: Mike Fuller, Los Van Van to Promote Latest Album in Europe, Cuban Music to Tour the Old Continent, Chucho Valdés: A Miraculous Pianist. By: Damián Donestévez"

Cuba Connections Festival Opens in New Orleans  3/16/2005 Prensa Latina: "The festival opens March 16 with the lecture "Afro-Cuban Sacred Music and Dance" by musician, arranger and producer Bill Summers. Summers has been a presence on the New Orleans music scene over the last 30 years. When not recording, he has made many trips to Cuba to study Afro-Cuban sacred drumming. He will be joined by percussionist Michael Skinkus, also an Afro-Cuban drumming researcher, and Ned Sublette, a professional musician and scholar recognized as one of the biggest advocates for the import of Cuban music to the US, to discuss Afro-Cuban sacred music and dance. Son of the influential Afro-Cuban jazz composer Chico O´Farrill, pianist Arturo O´Farrill will lecture on the complex relationship between jazz and Latin jazz (March 30), while Cuban scholar Tomas Montoya and Sublette will lecture on Cuban Street Parades & The Roots of Cuban Music, April 6. Professor at Tulane University and author of the book "Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo," Sublette will discuss the migrations of many cultures to Cuba and how the melting of these very different cultures produced the unique musical style the country has been known for. Montoya will compare Conga parades in Santiago de Cuba with Second Line parades in New Orleans."

Lázaro Ros  3/16/2005 The Guardian: "The singer Lázaro Ros, who has died of cancer aged 79, was a leading figure in Afro-Cuban culture. A modest and friendly man, he strove to raise awareness of the rich legacy of African slaves taken to Cuba. He performed the music of the Lucumí culture, which also includes religion and dance, of the Yoruba people from modern-day Nigeria, and the music of the Arará culture of the Dahomeyan people from modern-day Benin. On one estimate, 70% of Cubans practise an African religion, the main one being Santería, the cult of saints, in which deities from the homeland are worshipped through Catholic equivalents. From an early age, Ros taught himself the chants arising from the practice of this religion in the Lucumí and Arará cultures: he possessed an extraordinary voice, capable of hitting both high and low notes."

Omara Portuondo  3/14/2005 Granma: "LA cubana Omara Portuondo y los doce músicos de la orquesta Buena Vista que la acompañan, cosecharon anoche un gran éxito ante 5 000 personas en la Sala del Palacio en la capital rumana de Bucarest."

Mendive: Deities define his art  3/6/2005 Miami Herald: "In the art world, Manuel Mendive is considered the leading contemporary Afro-Cuban artist, his magic realist canvases, sculptures and performance pieces inspired by his mystical beliefs in the santería religion. In South Florida, where Mendive´s one-man show Feeding the Spirit, the Light, the Ancestors, Olodumare, the most beautiful thing opened Friday at Gary Nader Fine Art in Coral Gables, the painter´s name also evokes a key moment in Cuban-exile history. Almost 17 years ago, an angry exile protesting an auction of artwork by Cuban painters living on the island bought Mendive´s painting The Peacock for $500 -- then publicly burned it."

Prestigiará música cubana escenarios europeos  3/2/2005 Granma: "Como parte de un proyecto denominado Flor de Vida, se presentará en varios de los principales teatros de Suiza, el grupo de música tradicional Granma, acompañado por cuatro bailarines de la agrupación de danza folclórica Cutumba. El periplo incluye a las ciudades más importantes de esta nación como Zurich, Berna, Ginebra y Lucerna, una muestra del prestigio de que gozan los artistas cubanos en Europa."

INTERNATIONAL YORUBA WORKSHOP IN SANTIAGO  3/1/2005 Cuba Now: "The history of the Yoruba culture and its presence in Latin America and the Caribbean is the main topic of the 8th Ortiz-Lachatanere International Workshop on African Roots to be held in Santiago de Cuba (April 5-9).The history of the Yoruba culture and its presence in Latin America and the Caribbean is the main topic of the 8th Ortiz-Lachatanere International Workshop on African Roots to be held in Santiago de Cuba (April 5-9)."

OSSIE DAVIS: GUIDANCE, WISDOM, AND LOVE  3/1/2005 Cuba Now: by Nehanda Abiodun

Carnival time  2/25/2005 Granma: "The Havana carnival is now held in February and March instead of July and November. This year, the carnival will coincide with the 485th anniversary of the founding of the city."

Arts center sends love to Cuba for inaugural event  2/25/2005 SF State: ""To Cuba, With Love" kicks off at 8 p.m. Friday, March 4, in the Forum at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, with a performance by the West Coast AfroCuban All-Stars. The band, put together specifically for this event by saxophonist and SFSU music Lecturer Andrew Speight, features the best AfroCuban players on the West Coast. The All-Stars will pay their debt to Israel "Cachao" Lopez in musical currency, with a program venerating the 86-year-old artist's musical achievements. Cachao, one of the world’s leading jazz bassists and the creator of mambo, will receive the first-ever George and Judy Marcus Prize for his lifetime achievement in the arts. Special guest Andy Garcia, the actor known for his roles in such films as "The Godfather, Part III" and "Ocean's Eleven," will pay tribute to Cachao. Chuy Varela, a DJ on KCSM-FM, presents a pre-concert talk at 7:45 pm. The event is sold out."

Nancy Morejón: La poesía se escribe de vicio  2/24/2005 Radio Rebelde 

Cubarte Newsletter Number 8 Year 3  2/23/2005 Cubarte: "Chapeando´´: New album of Van Van Orchestra, Chucho and Mayra Caridad closed Jazz Festival in Mexico, A CD with tunes by Joan Manuel Serrat launched in France. By: Damián Donestévez, Notable concert of Adalberto Alvarez and his orchestra in Europe, Hip-Hop icons Orishas release new album in Spain"

Tras la Farola de Oggún, un Carnaval a la Ceiba - Pregón del carnaval de La Habana 2005  2/19/2005 Jiribilla 

Europe Pays Tribute to Compay Segundo  2/15/2005 World Music Central 

Adiós al Akpwon Mayor - Paquita Armas Fonseca  2/9/2005 Jiribilla 

ME TIENEN QUE NOMBRAR  2/9/2005 Jiribilla: "Acabo de llegar de la casa de Lázaro Ros. Sin lugar a dudas, el más alto exponte de los cultores del canto afrocubano. El señor venerable, que a sus 78 años, hace retumbar, con su voz bendecida por Oggún, los rezos de todos los negros que llevamos, para suerte nuestra, metidos en la sangre. Esto no es todo, apenas un pedazo de esa conversación, que nos entra por los enigmáticos caminos fundacionales de nuestra identidad."

UNA LEYENDA VIVA: LÁZARO ROS  2/9/2005 Jiribilla: Natalia Bolivar, 1985 - "Lázaro Ros es un hombre sabio y venerable. Delgado, de amplia sonrisa blanca y garganta de acero. Para los cubanos, Lázaro es la voz por excelencia salida del corazón de la selva nigeriana, y por supuesto, el mejor akpwon del rico y ancestral folklore afrocubano, quien entona sus melodías con voz inigualable, por su calidad y fortaleza."

El Cancionero Rumbero  2/6/2005 BataDrums.com: "40-page booklet of rumba lyrics, created by a group of musicians in the summer of 2002, and made available as a pdf file at no charge. If you would like a hard copy (printed version) of this work, please email shop@batadrums.com - it will be mailed for free along with certain qualifying orders placed in the shop."

La muerte es principio, no fin: Quintín Bandera - Obra de Natalia Bolivar, a la Feria del Libro - POR MARTA ROJAS  2/4/2005 Granma 

Dos cubanas en primera línea  1/28/2005 Granma: "Las cubanas Marylín Bobes y Teresa Cárdenas Angulo se alzaron con el Premio Casa de las Américas 2005 en las categorías de novela y literatura para niños y jóvenes, respectivamente, se conoció ayer en la entrega de los lauros de la 46ta. edición del certamen, en el que fueron evaluadas 582 obras concursantes." Vease nuestra pagina sobre Cardenas.

Rumba, Interrupted - The Bush administration breaks up the long-running dance between American and Cuban musicians.  1/25/2005 Village Voice 

LAZARO ROSS, CUBA’S GREAT AKPWON  1/20/2005 Granma: "LAZARO Ross is the undisputed king of African music in Cuba, the akpwón (lead singer in music of Yoruba origin.) With his metallic, atonal, full voice, his high-pitched register seems to emerge from the depths of the rivers, as Robert Blanco would say. I visit him often at his small house in Guanabacoa – an area of African traditions – where he lives with Oggún and his best friends: 1,500 books, an altar at the entrance with his Eleggua, a hook and dry coconut. Everything is very modest, like his personality, warm and kind. We chatted about the human and the divine; he does not consider himself a musicologist, but has the wisdom of experience. Born in 1925, he has sung for half the world and has much to tell." [Interview follows.]

Benny More legend makes a silver screen comeback  1/19/2005 Prensa Latina: "Cuban filmmaker Jorge Luis Sanchez decided not to hedge his bets and based his first work on the life of Benny More, the King of Rhythm, a figure revered by Cubans, regardless of age. Co-produced by the Cuban Film Institute (ICAIC) and the companies Coral Capital Entertainment, Ibermedia and Igeldo Comunikazoia, the film "Benny More" (provisional title) is expected to open on July. It is a fiction film which inserts family memories, Sanchez said in a press conference Friday, where he talked about Benny as someone always present in his family home environment, with his music warmly embracing him since childhood. The film is the first attempt in 20 years to bring the Cuban music icon"s image back to the screen."

Quintín Banderas, glorioso mambí  1/16/2005 Juventud Rebelde: "El presidente Estrada Palma se negó a que le entregaran el cadáver a la viuda y cuidó muy bien de que no se le rindieran honores. Lo trasladaron al cementerio en el carro de la lechuza, que se destinaba a los pobres de solemnidad, y sobre su tumba, abierta en la tierra, no se pudo colocar su nombre. La orden del asesinato del general José Quintino Bandera Betancourt —Quintín— salió del propio Palacio Presidencial."

Osmany Paredes Con Menduvia  1/15/2005 Descarga.com: review by Peter Watrous

Nuestro teatro es distinto - Jorge Luis Rodríguez González  1/15/2005 Jiribilla 

Superb Cuban pianist finds happiness in Hub jazz scene By Larry Katz  1/12/2005 Boston Herald: the Boston Herald features Osmany Paredes.

Cubarte Newsletter Number 2 Year 3  1/12/2005 Cubarte: "Pianist Chucho Valdes: Grand Theater of Havana Award 2005, Afro-Cuban singer and folk expert Lazaro Ross awarded with the Felix Varela Order. By: Damián Donestévez, 2005 Caribbean Festival dedicated to Venezuela, Irakere, A Legend with a Yoruban Name. By: Ileana Rodriguez"